Set sail across the world — Williams’ Caravelle is an electromechanical four-player wrapped in a world-places travel theme, named for the famous sailing ship, designed by the legendary Steve Kordek with art by George Molentin. With reel scoring and a scarce confirmed run of just 425, it’s an uncommon and characterful woodrail-era piece from a genuine master of the craft.
The layout has a genuinely distinctive feature: a rotating drum in the playfield that indicates the current target value, along with a generous four flippers, three pop bumpers, two passive bumpers, a pair of slingshots, and two gobble holes. That rotating value drum is the machine’s clever calling card, adding a dynamic, ever-changing scoring element that rewards a player who times their shots to the highest values, while the two gobble holes offer that daring, high-risk-high-reward proposition of swallowing the ball for an award. The four flippers open up extra attacking angles, all in service of the globe-trotting travel theme. It’s an engaging, distinctive design that rewards attentive, well-timed play.
Caravelle is a fine example of Steve Kordek’s design craft and Molentin’s artwork, pairing a worldly travel theme with a genuinely clever rotating-value-drum mechanic. Kordek was a genuine legend whose innovations echoed across decades of pinball history, and with only 425 built this is a scarce find for the collector who prizes rarity. For anyone who loves the golden age of EM pinball and its foundational figures, it’s a rewarding pursuit. Time your shots to that rotating value drum, work the four flippers, and brave the gobble holes. Some machines add a genuinely clever twist to the scoring, and this Kordek travel classic is one of them. Weigh anchor and drop a coin.